Observing Mental Illnesses

Mental illnesses are hard to diagnose. As Professor John Breeding mentions in his video and our textbook, Discovering Psychology, mentions on page 239, there are not blood tests or scans that you can do in determining whether or not you have a specific mental illness. People’s behavior must be observed and after that, doctors typically refer back to the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) for diagnosis. Even though there is no scientific or chemically proven way to show that you do in fact have a mental illness, I do still believe that they are there. Like medical illnesses, one’s mental illness can be understood by observing certain behaviors that a patient exhibits. Mental illnesses can be proven by observing abnormal behaviors that are shown by patients; “… each [illness] has its own set of distinct characteristics used for diagnosis, and as a part of a continuum from normal behavior to severely disordered behavior.” (Cacippo, p. 537). Abnormal behavior is the number one factor when it comes to diagnosing a mental illness. …show more content…
The normal, loving mother ended up killing all five of her children. There had to be a reason. The reason the court found was that she was not mentally stable when it was all happening. Her depression caused her not to be in the right state of mind and she was deemed insane by the court and sent to a hospital for help. I do believe in the insanity plea as well as mental illness. When someone is mentally ill and not aware of the actions in which they are doing, I feel that they are not control and should not be held responsible. I do not completely agree that the insanity plea should have been acceptable when it came to Andrea Yates because I do not feel like she completely fits the requirements of being considered insane. I do still believe, though, that she was in fact mentally